F-Deep Success3

Philadelphia Eagles Gameday HQ

Every NFL team will carry a long list of defensive backs,
linebackers, wide receivers and defensive ends into training
camp because depth is a necessity. This year, 137 players were
drafted at those positions and nearly 200 more were brought in as
undrafted free agents.
These numbers make the NFL’s origins all the more
interesting where roster limits stood at just 25 in 1937. Hall of
Famer “Slingin” Sammy Baugh was drafted that season by the
Washington Redskins to play on both sides of the ball in the
Last season, opponents found it difficult to cross the end zone against a deep and
talented Seahawks defense, a key to Seattle’s run to become Super Bowl champs.
midst of the leather helmet era. Baugh helped revolutionize the
forward pass. The rookie QB led the Washington Redskins to
an NFL Championship in which he threw for a rookie playoff
passing record 335 yards against the Chicago Bears, a record that
stood for 75 years.
That same season Baugh also played defensive back and
punter. In 1943, he led the league in completions, punting yards
and interceptions. Baugh played what was known as ironman
football, and it was quite common in the NFL’s early days,
especially when manpower was scarce during WWII.
“It’s not ironman football, where you stay on the field for
60 minutes,” said Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik. “Everybody!
We were ironmen.”
Although Baugh was able to put up impressive numbers in
the 1937 NFL Championship, football was very different from the
modern game. That season, the 10 NFL franchises averaged 93
passing yards per game. By the end of Baugh’s 16-season career,
the league average soared to 160 yards per game. In 2013, the 32
teams averaged a league-record 235.6 yards per game. The gains
have become so rapid that quarterbacks passed for almost 13,000
more total yards than they did just a decade ago.
Prior to leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title, it was
quarterback Russell Wilson that broke Baugh’s rookie playoff
passing record. Wilson is one of several young stars on the team’s
roster, and one of the biggest oppositions to cultivating and
retaining the depth to succeed long term is the salary cap. Teams
are bolstered by the great play of their young stars, but that
exceptional play comes along with well-deserved pay raises.
Seattle has several standout players, including Sherman
ROBERT BECK/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
and Pro Bowler Wilson, who have played above the level of
their rookie contracts. Wilson will not even be the highest paid
QB on the team.
Sherman’s recent contract extension was a major factor in the
team’s offseason moves. The four-year, $56 million deal will cause
his cap number to rise above $12 million. That’s 20 times more
than 2013 and just over nine percent of the total cap. Under the
current CBA, Wilson can renegotiate his contract after this year,
and young Super Bowl winning QBs don’t come cheap.
DE Chris Clemons, RT Breno Giacomini, WR Golden Tate, DT
Red Bryant, Thurmond and Browner were all lost to free agency
this season. With just $8 million in available cap space and the
impending contract extension that the team will offer Wilson, it
was impossible for the Seahawks to keep their roster intact.
Coach Pete Carroll will replace these players the only way he
knows how, with young overlooked players that he sees potential
in. Two of the players expected to step up and compete for the
nickel cornerback position are Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon.
Both players are late round picks of the Seahawks, just like fellow
DBs Sherman, Chancellor and Byron Maxwell.